St. Paul daily globe., 1887-10-31
ANIMALS STIRRED UP
Over the Enforcement of the New San
itary Code.
THE HEALTH OFFICER TALKS
He Says He Will Fight 1t Out
and Gives Several Ex-
periences.

effect OF the rigid enforcement or the
new sanitary code. This was to have
been expected, and it may as we'll be
said that the board cannot hope to do
good work without treading Oh the toes
of offenders and making enemies of
them. At the same time it is gratifying
to know the leading physicians of the
city are rallying around the board and
offering their cooperation in enforcing
what they believe to be wise and Eenef-
icent laws. DR.. KilvingtOn is now
having whirl with an undertaking
finn, and though the latter has kept the
floor, the physician seems to have the
best of it. The difficulty arose from
the refusal of the health officer to grant,
at 1880 in the evening, permit for
body to be taken from the city at 9
o'clock the same night. He said in
reference to it:
''Tl e rules require that all permits
shall be issued from the health office.
which is very important because the
records are kept there. The time was
when permits were issued by the health
officer, by his wife, a student in his
office or clerk in neighDoring drug
store. but that style is no longer in vogue
We are making desperate effort 20 re-
duce the records to an absolute system,
and if permits are issued from IndiS-
criminate places, that is simply impossi-
BILE. Office hours are from to 5 O'Clock,
but | am willing to go the'e at other
times to accommodate juStifiable case,
though propose to have business done
at the Office when possible. There are
three members of the board ,and if these
people think am wrong they can APP
peal. The other members are gentle
men who understand their business and
will look into any matter, and l am
willing they should.
''DO you general ly have trouble with
the undertakerS?'
II will have until they are educated
permitted to do as they chose and it is
hard for them to get down to the regu-
latiOnS. But they must do it. This is
an important matter. involving the pub
lie health, and | am sure of public sup
port. For instance, there have been
cases where undertakers have kept
pauper cOlpses in their places, waiting
until they got load, when they would
be carted Off together. Three days is
the limit and this thing must end. The
undertakers kick, too, because they are
not allowed to bury bodies only eighteen
inches Deep
HAS that been dOne?"
'Certainly. Why, we had in one cem-
etery to compel them to pile dirt on
collins that were simply buried in
mounds. Six feet down is the require
ment and it will be enforced. Another
thing is that cemetery superintendent
and sections will be made responsible if 4
the permit does not correspond. For
example, permit was issued for a
burial at Maple Hill not long since, and
fhQ inf ont fnnly nla,,a ~ I
it had not been discovered the records
would have been wrong and useless. 4
Several times, in insurance cases. search
has been made for certain causes iof
death and the. old records contain
no mention of the cases at all.
That is another thing that is ended. /
had case the other day where an un-
dertaker wanted permit to eXhume a
body and send it away. The death had
resulted from diphtheria, and l refused,
so, of course, lie went away cursing
me-"
"Are permits ever issued in such
cases?'
Rarely, unless sufficient time has
elapsed for the body to have become
deSsicated. There might be no danger
in such case. and then there might be.
A dozen might be removed and no sick
ness result, and then the removal of one
might cause general lnfectIOn. In con-
tagious diseases cXhumation is safe only
after ten OF fifteen years. Some
thing decidedly worse happened here
once. A man died of a very contagious
disease and was buried. A week later
his wife died and requested to be laid
in the same grave. The grave was
opened, and with the first coffin exposed
to view the crowd of mourners gathered
around while the second coffin was low
cred. | can't say that any sickness re-
suited, for l don't know, but it was
highly dangerous and reckless, and
should never have been allowed. These
are but specimens. You can say to
these people that if l do wrong am
liable to fine, and that is their easiest
remedy"
'Undertakers are not the only sources
of trouble, are they?'
Indeed, no. The owners of large
tenement blocks-men of means and in
telligence-make trouble for us and
perSistently refuse to do what we order.
Defective plumbing which admits sewer
gas is turning up every day, and it is
exceedingly difficult to have the defects
remedied. l could give a thousand cases
week, of every character. We don't
expect to avoid trouble, but the papers
can help us by giving the moral support
we need"